Facts & Figures Facts & Figures It is illegal for anyone aged under 18 to gamble Facts & Figures Records The first race was held in 1839, but it started in inauspicious circumstances, going off two hours late after confusion over weighing procedures. The aptly named, and 5-1 favourite, Lottery came home first. The 1929 National featured the most starters in the race when 66 horses lined up. The smallest field was in 1883 when just 10 faced the starter. The fastest ever time is the 8 minutes 47.8 seconds Mr Frisk recorded in taking victory in 1990. The slowest time is the 14m 53s it took Lottery to win the first National in 1839. The smallest number of finishers was in 1928 when Tipperary Tim, a 100-1 outsider, was the first of two past the post. The greatest number of horses to finish was 23 in 1984. Hallo Dandy, ridden by Neale Doughty, was the winner. 17 completed last season.

The 1997 Grand National, which was won by Lord Gyllene, was the 150th running of the race at Aintree and Sir Peter O'Sullevan's 50th and final commentary for the BBC. 2013 saw the first screening of the race by Channel 4. The shortest price winner was Poethlyn at 11-4 in 1919. The Course The first five Grand National's included one jump that was a stone wall. It was situated where the water jump now stands. Becher's Brook earned its name when a top jockey, Captain Martin Becher, took shelter in the brook after being unseated. "Water tastes disgusting without the benefits of whisky" he reflected. The Chair is the tallest fence at 5ft 2ins, and the broadest. The fence got its name as it was once alongside the seat used by the distance judge. The fences at Aintree are made up of spruce from the Lake District. The cost of the building work is tens of thousands of pounds and takes a month to complete. As well as horse racing, Aintree has also hosted a European and five British Grand Prix.

Stirling Moss won his first Grand Prix in Liverpool in 1955. The change seemed to work in 2014 as no horse lost his jockey until the Canal Turn, although there were plenty of early casualties last year. Horses Red Rum is the most successful horse, having won the Grand National three times: 1973, 1974 and 1977. The oldest winning horse is Peter Simple, aged 15 (1853); the youngest winning horses were Alcibiade (1865), Regal (1876), Austerlitz (1877), Empress (1880), Lutteur III (1909), all aged 5. Abd-El-Kader was the first horse to win back-to-back Nationals, in 1850 and 1851. The Colonel, (1869 & 1870), Reynoldstown (1935 & 1936) and Red Rum (1973 & 1974) have also retained the crown. Can Many Clouds join this elite club this year?

Moiffa won in 1904 - having disappeared a year earlier. On a trip to Liverpool from New Zealand, Moiffa's ship was shipwrecked. The horse was presumed lost at sea before turning up on an outcrop south of Ireland. The legendary Golden Miller won in 1934 and became the only horse to complete the Cheltenham Gold Cup-Grand National double in the same season. Garrison Savannah narrowly failed to emulate the feat in 1991. Manifesto has run in more races than any other horse. Between 1895 and 1904, he ran in eight races, winning two and coming third on three occasions. He only failed to finish once. Two Russian horses, Reljef and Grifel, competed in the 1961 Grand National, but neither finished. Horses from Hungary, the Czech Republic and Norway have also run in previous Grand Nationals, although all with similarly disappointing results.

Hungarian chaser Buszke was pulled up in 1868, while Gyi Lovam, the first Czechoslovakian challenger in 1931, came to grief at Becherï¿½s, was remounted but fell again four fences later. The Czech-trained Essex, Fraze and Quirinus all carried automatic top-weight in the 1980s and 1990s but failed to complete. The 2000 renewal saw the first Norwegian-trained runner in the shape of Trinitro, but he got no further than the first fence where he fell. Japanese thoroughbred, Fujino-O captured four consecutive renewals of the prestigious Nakayama Daishogai in his homeland before being sent to Britain to be prepared for Aintree by trainer Fulke Walwyn. The seven year-old was given the automatic top-weight of 12st and failed to get competitive under his welter burden in 1966, eventually refusing under Jeff King.

Five winners were bred in France ï¿½ Alcibiade (1865), Reugny (1874), Lutteur III (1909), Mon Mome (2009) and Neptune Collonges (2012). Mely Moss, who was runner-up to Papillon in the 2000 Grand National and the 1996 and 2015 runners-up Encore Un Peu and Saint Are, were also French breds. In 1998, Earth Summit, owned by a six-strong partnership, became the first winner of the Grand National who was also successful in both the Scottish and Welsh Grand Nationals. Only three greys have won the Grand National - The Lamb (1868 and 1871), Nicolaus Silver (1961) and Neptune Collonges (2012). Suny Bay finished second to Lord Gyllene in 1997 and filled the same spot behind Earth Summit in 1998. King Johns Castle was second in 2008.

Thirteen mares have won the Grand National, but the most recent was Nickel Coin back in 1951. Since then, the mares Gentle Moya (2nd 1956), Tiberetta (3rd 1957 and 2nd 1958), Miss Hunter (3rd 1970), Eyecatcher (3rd 1976 and 1977), Auntie Dot (3rd 1991), Ebony Jane (4th 1994) and Dubacilla (4th 1995) have all finished in the first four.

The complete list of winning mares is: Charity (1841), Miss Mowbray (1852), Anatis (1860), Jealousy (1861), Emblem (1863), Emblematic (1864), Casse Tete (1872), Empress (1880), Zoedone (1883), Frigate (1889), Shannon Lass (1902), Sheila's Cottage (1948) and Nickel Coin (1951). In 1923, Sergeant Murphy became the first US bred horse to win the race. He is also the joint-second oldest horse to win, at age 13, alongside Why Not (1884). The US bred Battleship, son of the famous Man o' War, became the first (and so far only) horse to have won both the Grand National (in 1938) and the American Grand National (which he won four years earlier). 1991 was the seventh and final year that the Grand National was sponsored by Seagram.

Aptly, the race was won by a horse named Seagram, bred in New Zealand. 1997 saw another New Zealand-bred winner in Lord Gyllene. Jockeys Tony McCoy is the most experienced jockey in the history of the National - his final ride in 2015 was his 20th National. McCoy won his only National on Don't Push It in 2010. He took the record from Tom Olliver who rode in 19 Nationals - winning three - despite spending time behind bars in a debtor's prison. In 2016 Richard Johnson will ride in the National for the 20th consecutive year since Celtic Abbey became his first mount in 1997 (unseating him at The Chair). Johnson has twice been runner-up, on What's Up Boys (2002) and Balthazar King two years ago, but is yet to win. George Stevens is the most successful jockey in the history of the National with five wins. His final triumph came in 1870 on The Colonel. Stevens died three months after finishing sixth in the 1871 race.

Together with the Lincoln Handicap run on the Flat at Doncaster, the Grand National forms leg two of the ï¿½Spring Doubleï¿½. The only jockey to have won both contests is Dave Dick, who captured the Lincoln on Gloaming in 1941 and the Grand National on E.S.B. in 1956. Bruce Hobbs is the youngest jockey to have ever won the race. The 17-year-old triumphed aboard Battleship in 1938. The late Dick Saunders is the oldest ever winner of the Grand National, partnering Grittar to victory in 1982. Saunders was 48 at the time. He was the first member of the Jockey Club to partner a Grand National winner. Brian Fletcher (1968 Red Alligator, 1973 and 1974 Red Rum) shares a 20th century record with the legendary Jack Anthony (1911 Glenside, 1915 Ally Sloper, 1920 Troytown), both jockeys having ridden three National winners. Plenty of riders have won the Grand National on their first attempt.

The most recent are Ryan Mania (2013 Auroras Encore), Liam Treadwell (2009 Mon Mome), Niall ï¿½Slippersï¿½ Madden (2006 Numbersixvalverde), Ruby Walsh (2000 Papillon), Jason Titley (1995 Royal Athlete), Nigel Hawke (1991 Seagram), Jimmy Frost (1989 Littler Polveir), Dick Saunders (1982 Grittar) and Maurice Barnes (1979 Rubstic). Ruby Walsh holds the best record of current jockeys, having won the Grand National twice, on Papillon in 2000 and Hedgehunter in 2005. Jockey William Watkinson recorded the first riding success for Australia in 1926. He was killed at Bogside, Scotland, less than three weeks after winning the Grand National. Prince Karl Kinsky, an Austro-Hungarian nobleman, was the first jockey from outside Britain and Ireland to ride when he made a winning debut on board his own mare Zoedone in 1883.

Tsuyoshi Tanaka, the son of a champion boxer, became the first Japanese jockey to ride in the Grand National in 1995, although his taste of the Aintree experience proved to be brief as he fell at the first fence on The Committee. American amateur Tim Durant was 68 when 15th on Highlandie in 1968 (although he remounted at Becherï¿½s second time). In 2012, Richard Johnson beat the record for the most rides in the National without a win. He has now ridden in the race 19 times without bettering the runner up spot in 2002 on Whatï¿½s Up Boys. There are 12 other riders who have never won (or have not as yet won) the National, despite having had more than 12 rides in the race.

They are: David Casey (1997-2015): finished third once in 15 attempts; Jeff King (1964ï¿½1980): finished third once in 15 attempts; Robert Thornton (1997ï¿½to date): never in first three in 14 attempts; Bill Parvin (1926ï¿½1939): finished second once in 14 attempts; Tom Scudamore (2001-2015): never in first three in 14 attempts; Graham Bradley (1983ï¿½1999): finished second once in 14 attempts; Chris Grant (1980ï¿½1994): finished second three times in 13 attempts; Stan Mellor (1956ï¿½1971): finished second once in 13 attempts; David Nicholson (1957ï¿½1973): never in first three in 13 attempts; George Waddington (1861ï¿½1882): finished second once in 13 attempts; Walter White (1854ï

¿½1869): finished second once in 13 attempts; Andrew Thornton (1996-2013): never in first three in 13 attempts.

Peter Scudamore technically lined up for thirteen Grand Nationals without winning but the last of those was the void race of 1993, which meant that he officially competed in twelve Nationals. Many other well-known jockeys have failed to win the Grand National. These include champion jockeys such as Terry Biddlecombe, John Francome, Josh Gifford, Stan Mellor, Jonjo O'Neill (who never finished the race) and Fred Rimell. Three jockeys who led over the last fence in the National but lost the race on the run-in ended up as television commentators: Lord Oaksey (on Carrickbeg in 1963), Norman Williamson (on Mely Moss in 2000), and Richard Pitman (on Crisp in 1973). Pitman's son Mark also led over the last fence, only to be pipped at the post when riding Garrison Savannah in 1991. Female Jockeys Since Charlotte Brew became the first in 1977, female jockeys have participated in 19 Grand National's. Brew attracted huge media attention when partnering her own horse Barony Fort.

She was a guest on the BBC Sports Personality of the Year show and the Daily Mirror arranged a day-trip on Concorde to Washington. She was also unseated in the 1982 race. Geraldine Rees became the first to complete the course (albeit in last place) in 1982. She fell at the first a year later and went on to train for 12 years in Lancashire, before retiring in 2010. In 2012 Katie Walsh (sister of two-time winner Ruby Walsh) achieved the best placing by a woman to date - 3rd place on Seabass. In 2013, she rode that same horse when he was sent off as favourite, but he could only finish 13th. She also led up Papillon, when trained by her father and ridden by Ruby to win in 2000. National winning trainer, Venetia Williams, also rode in the race, falling at Becherï¿½s first time when riding 200-1 chance Marcolo in 1988.

Nina Carberry, now assistant to trainer Noel Meade, is the most experienced female rider, having finished on four of her five starts. Gee Armytage had to pull up her aptly-named mount, Gee-A, in 1988. A dual Cheltenham Festival-winning rider, she is the sister of Marcus Armytage - rider of the 1990 winner Mr Frisk - and became personal assistant to multiple champion jump jockey A P McCoy. Rosemary Henderson finished fifth when aged 51 on her own 100/1 shot Fiddlers Pike in 1994. She subsequently wrote a book, ï¿½Road To The Nationalï¿½, about her exploits. There was huge media interest in Carrie Ford when she finished fifth in 2005 on Forest Gunner, trained by her husband Richard. Ford, then 33, had given birth to her daughter Hannah 10 weeks earlier.

Here is the complete record of lady jockeys to date: Year Grand National jockey who grew up allergic to horses hoping to become race's second-youngest winner - Mirror Online News Grand National jockey who grew up allergic to horses hoping to become race's second-youngest winner Sean Bowen, 17, will ride Mon Parrain for champion trainer Paul Nicholls and will race against his trainer dad Peter's fancied horse Al Co Share Itching to start: Sean Bowen used to be alergic to horses but will ride in Saturday's Grand National (Photo: SWNS / Getty) Share Get daily updates directly to your inbox + Subscribe Thank you for subscribing! Could not subscribe, try again laterInvalid Email Being allergic to horses wasn’t the perfect start in life for the little boy born in a racing stables. As a toddler, Sean Bowen had an acute dislike for his parents’ 50 thoroughbreds as he suffered eczema every time he got near horse hair. Now 17, it’s a different story. This weekend, Sean will bid to become the second youngest jockey ever to win the Grand National. It is a chance he has been dreaming of for years.

It’s in his blood – so much so that Sean went to his first races at just 10 days old. But his allergy to horses will not be the only hurdle he has overcome if he rides to victory this weekend. One of his 39 rivals is horse Al Co – the pride of trainer dad Peter’s stables, where rising star Sean grew up in Little Newcastle, near Haverfordwest, in West Wales. “That’s all dad ever says to me, his dream is to train the Grand National winner,” says Sean. “But words couldn’t describe what it would be like for me to win.” Parents and son going head-to-head is certainly going to be emotional. But for Sean’s mum Karen it seems like no time since she first took Sean to the races – a nightmare 310-mile journey to Market Rasen when he was 10 days old. “I drove the horse box and Sean was beside me in his baby seat,” the mum of three recalls. “His older brother Mickey used to fall asleep the moment we left the yard and he wouldn’t wake up until we arrived at the races. “So I foolishly thought that all babies were like that, but Sean soon proved to be very different.

“He was continually hungry and made his feelings known, so I had to keep stopping at the roadside to breastfeed him. What was normally a seven-hour drive to Market Rasen ended up taking 10 hours.” Allergy: Sean Bowen aged three with dad Peter (Photo: Daily Mirror) The real false start to his horse-racing career came a few years later, when he suffered horrendous eczema flare-ups every time he went near the stables. “Sean started riding horses before he could walk but he had really bad eczema when he was little,” says Karen. “He used to itch and was covered from head to toe in a rash every time he went near a horse. “It started off when he was three months old and got gradually worse, especially around clipping time when Peter and I would have horse hair all over us. “I remember asking a specialist if he would grow out of it and he said: ‘No chance.’” Sean laughs: “When I was about five I absolutely hated the horses. I used to come out in a rash and my eyes would water every time I went near them.” But when he turned seven, the eczema vanished – with doctors only able to explain that he had simply grown out of it.

Sean then fell in love with horse racing. He even used to practice his winning pose, sitting astride the arm of the sofa. Karen smiles: “He used to sit on the arm of our settee with a whip in his hand, riding out an imaginary finish as a jockey by hitting the sofa. "It used to land Sean in trouble because his dad was always saying, ‘Why are you letting him batter that sofa to bits?’. The real thing: Sean aged six on a racehorse for the first time (Photo: Daily Mirror) “Sean and his younger brother James had an old pony called Striker and they used to ride him up and down the gallops for hours. They used to time each other to see who was quickest. Striker was very slow and kept plodding on. “Then we put a mechanical horse in the house and Sean spent hours and hours riding a finish on that.” She adds: “He had absolutely no interest in school at all. From the age of nine, all he wanted to do was become a jockey.” When Sean turned 14, Karen and Peter decided to take him out of school and teach him at home, so he could train on the horses between lessons.

Karen says: “Sean used to ride out 10 horses on the gallops every day between lessons – and the more horses he rode, the happier he became. “He fell off loads of times but nothing put him off.” She continues: “Sean used to have a game on his PlayStation called G1 Champion Jockey which told you the tactics each horse needed to perform best. “When Sean was not racing or riding at home, he played that game endlessly and he became very good at reading a race – it definitely helped him.” Top conditional: Sean riding another winner at Haydock racecourse last weekend (Photo: Getty) Sean finally got his dream of becoming a professional jockey last year, and has already ridden 40 winners in a stellar first season for eight-time champion trainer Paul Nicholls. Paul, whose stables are in Ditcheat, Somerset, had first spotted the teenager’s talent when he was riding in amateur point-to-point races for his dad, and snapped him up to join his top team. Sean is now hot favourite to be this season’s top conditional jockey. He is three ahead of his nearest rival after booting home six winners over Easter. But his first Grand National will be his most poignant race.

He will be riding 50-1 outsider Mon Parrain, having qualified to take part just last week after riding his 10th victory over chase fences – the requirement for any jockey taking part. And the enormity of this Saturday’s race, which will be watched by 600 million people worldwide, is still sinking in. If he wins, Sean – who turns 18 in September – will become the youngest jockey to triumph since Bruce Hobbs won on Battleship in 1938, aged 17 years and three months. Teaming up: Sean with his Grand National horse Mon Parrain at the Paul Nicholls yard in Ditcheat, Somerset (Photo: SWNS) Sean says: “I’ve watched the Grand National since I was a baby and it will be amazing to be part of it. A year ago I would never have expected to be riding in the race. It’s all happened so fast. “My favourite Grand National was watching Dad’s horse McKelvey finish second to Silver Birch in 2007. "Mon Parrain has jumped round these fences before and he is better than ever this year, so he should go well.

"I love riding winners because it’s such a massive buzz.” Sean, of course, is aware that his parents also have a lot riding on the race, and insists he’ll be happy if either of them win the £1million prize. “It would be a different class for me or my parents to have the winner,” he says. “If either horse won, it would be absolutely fantastic.” Karen and Peter’s 10-year-old horse Al Co – to be ridden by Denis O’Regan – is 25-1 to win, according to William Hill, after being a shock 40-1 winner of last year’s Scottish Grand National at Ayr. Joining them at Aintree will be Sean’s brothers Mickey, 19, assistant trainer in the family’s training operation, and James, 14, who has already notched up 60 wins in pony races. Family rivalry: Sean's mum Karen with their own Aintree contender Al Co (Photo: Daily Mirror) Karen smiles: “I’m not sure I will be able to watch. I may have to wait and see a replay later. I will be very torn. “The best result would be a dead heat and I will be shouting for both horses.

“Winning the Grand National would be amazing. It’s the ultimate, the race we’ve always wanted to win.” She continues: “Al Co is such a gentle horse – we all love him to bits. But the way Sean’s career has taken off is already beyond our wildest dreams. It’s just totally incredible. “I used to ask Sean if being a jockey was what he really wanted to do, but he got cross with me for asking. The sacrifices don’t worry him, he is totally dedicated to the aim of being a top jockey.” Karen adds: “The whole family gets excited about this one race. “We always go up to Aintree for the three days and we’ve had some great times and share some very fond memories.” And whatever happens on Saturday, for this proud family it will surely go down as one of grandest nationals yet. Like us on Facebook The Grand National in numbers : Features : Grand National The Grand National in numbers One of the 30 fences jumped at the Grand National. Dan Fitch looks at the numbers which define the records and statistics of the Grand National. Betting on horse racing is a numbers game, so it's no surprise to find that the history of the Grand National is one defined by numbers.

Here are all the records and statistics of the greatest horse racing event of all - it's the Grand National in numbers. 2 - The number of greys that have won the Grand National. The Lamb (1868 and 1871) and Nicolaus Silver (1961) are the only greys to have won the race. 3 - The record number of Grand Nationals won by Red Rum, who was victorious in 1973, 1974 and 1977. Rummie was also the runner-up in the race in 1975 and 1976. 4 - The most Grand Nationals won by a trainer is four. Ginger McCain, Fred Rimmell and George Dockeray have all trained four Grand National winners. 5 - George Stevens is the only jockey to have won the race five times, with victories in 1856, 1863, 1864, 1869 and 1870. 8 - The record number of Grand Nationals run by a horse is the eight by Manifesto, winning the race twice.

10 - The smallest ever Grand National field was the 10 runners in 1883. 13 - The number of mares to have won the Grand National. The last mare to win the race was Nickel Coin in 1951. 15 - The most rides in the race by a jockey who never won the Grand National, was the 15 by Jeff King between 1964 and 1980. 17 - The age of Bruce Hobbs when he became the youngest jockey to win the Grand National in 1938. 19 - The record number of rides in the race by a jockey is the 19 by Tom Olliver between 1839 and 1859. 23 - In the 1967 Grand National, the loose horse Popham Down veered wildly as he approached the 23rd fence, causing a melee that saw Foinavon take advantage and win the race. The jump is now known as the Foinavon Fence. 30 - The number of fences that the horses jump over two laps of the Aintree course.

There are 16 fences in all and the first 14 of them are jumped twice. 40 - The yards that Devon Loch was winning the 1956 Grand National by, before he inexplicably fell and handed victory to ESB. 48 - The age of Dick Saunders when he became the eldest jockey to win the Grand National in 1982. 50 - The amount of cameras that will be filming the 2011 Grand National for television, including one in the jockeys' changing room and others in two helicopters. 66 - The largest ever Grand National field was the 66 runners in 1929. 100 - There have been five 100-1 winners of the Grand National. Tipperary Tim was the first in 1928 and has been followed by Gregalach in 1929, Caughoo in 1947, Foinavon in 1967 and Mon Mome in 2009. 140 - The number of countries worldwide that show the Grand National on television.

527.8 - The amount of seconds that it took Mr Frisk to win the Grand National in 1990. The time of eight minutes and 47.8 seconds is the fastest winning time ever. 7242 - The total distance in metres of the Grand National course at Aintree. 950,000 - The number of pounds that make up the 2011 Grand National prize fund. 600,000,000 - The estimated global television audience for the Grand National. Ten things you never knew... | Sport | The Guardian Ten things you never knew... ...about the Grand National Red Rum completes the Grand National hat-trick. Photograph: Getty. Laura King Friday 1 April 2005 09.28 EST First published on Friday 1 April 2005 09.28 EST Share on Messenger Close 1. The fence called Valentine's Brook gained its name in the second running of the race, in 1840, when a horse named Valentine, ridden by Irish amateur Alan Power, reared up dramatically at the second brook before somehow clambering over. He eventually finished third. 2.

In early runnings of the race, the fences were small banks and ditches. There were also two brooks and even a stone wall. The stone wall was replaced by the water jump in front of the stands in 1844. Now 30 fences are jumped, 16 of them twice, during the two circuits of the course. 3. Becher's Brook is named after Captain Martin Becher, who fell there during the first National in 1839. He remounted, only to fall again at the second brook - prompting him to say he had never before known how "dreadful water tasted without the benefit of whisky." 4. The youngest ever winner was Bruce Hobbs, who won in 1938 at the age of 17. At 15 hands high, his horse Battleship was little more than a pony. The oldest winner was Dick Saunders who was 48 when he rode Grittar to victory in 1982 - the only time he ever competed in the National. 5. In 1990, Mr Frisk, ridden by amateur Marcus Armytage, became the first horse to complete the course in less than nine minutes.

His winning time of nine minutes and 47 seconds remains the course record. 6. Jenny Pitman is the only woman to train a winner of the Grand National . She was successful with Corbiere in 1983, and again with veteran Royal Athlete in 1995. Her son Mark has finished second twice; as a jockey on Garrison Savannah in 1990 and as a trainer with Smarty in 2001. Jenny's ex-husband Richard was famously second in 1973 when Australian chaser Crisp was caught on the run-in by Red Rum. 7. Red Rum is the only horse to have won three Grand Nationals, in 1973, 1974 and 1977. So named because it spells 'murder' backwards, Red Rum began his career by dead-heating in a flat race at Aintree as a two-year-old. He was trained behind a used-car salesroom in nearby Southport by Ginger McCain, who last year won the race again with Amberleigh House. 8. The biggest field ever to take part saw 66 horses charge down to the first fence in 1929.

The race was won by 100-1 chance, Gregalach, who netted £13,000 pounds for his grateful owners. Now the maximum is 40 horses and this year's race will be the richest ever, worth £700,000. 9. In 1977 Charlotte Brew became the first woman to ride in the Grand National, but her horse Barony Fort refused at the fourth last. Geraldine Rees became the first woman to complete the course five years later riding Cheers, and Rosemary Henderson became the second to get round when she was fifth on Fiddler's Pike in 1994. 10. The jockey currently riding with the best record in the race is Carl Llewellyn. He won on the giant Party Politics in 1992, and again on Earth Summit in 1998. He is likely to partner former winner Bindaree in this year's renewal.

Bruce Hobbs - Telegraph Bruce Hobbs 12:02AM GMT 23 Nov 2005 Bruce Hobbs, who died yesterday aged 84, became the youngest jockey ever to ride the winner of the Grand National when successful on Battleship in 1938; three months after his 17th birthday, he forced up the 40-1 outsider on the post to beat Royal Danieli by a head. Trained by his father Reg Hobbs for the American millionairess Marion du Pont Scott, Battleship (the last entire to win the race) was the smallest horse in the field, while as well as being the youngest rider, Hobbs was also the tallest. Bruce Robertson Hobbs was born on December 27 1920 on Long Island, New York, where his father was Master of the Horse to the sewing-machine heir Ambrose Clark. In that capacity Reg Hobbs was responsible for the making and breaking of hunters, show horses and polo ponies. Two years later, Reg Hobbs took charge of the hunters kept by Ambrose Clark at Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire.

Captain Tom Hobbs, grandfather of Bruce Hobbs, was also well known in equestrian circles. A highly respected dealer, he had a large repository of hunters at Great Bowden in Leicestershire. As a result of intense and demanding tuition by his father, Bruce became a most polished rider in boyhood, winning championships on his white pony Lady Marvel. After giving up hunting in 1931, Ambrose Clark established Reg Hobbs as a trainer of steeplechasers in the Ronehurst yard at Lambourn in Berkshire. Soon after his 14th birthday Bruce, already 6 ft 1½ in in his socks, became the stable's amateur, riding his first winner at Wolverhampton in 1935. On Boxing Day 1936, 24 hours before his 16th birthday, Bruce went to Wolverhampton to ride Circourt, Abbot's Glance and Cakewalker. Having won on the first two, he was going out to mount Cakewalker when an official called him back to tell him he had just ridden his 10th winner, and could not ride again until he had received an official permit or turned professional.

Obtaining a professional's licence by telegram, Hobbs carried on where had left off as an amateur by completing another double, on his next two mounts Baccharis and Eliza, at Wolverhampton on the next day's racing. Two weeks after winning the Grand National on Battleship, Hobbs won the Welsh Grand National on Timber Wolf. At the end of that season of 1937-38, during which he had ridden 35 winners, Hobbs went to the United States, where he made history by becoming the first jockey to win three Grand Nationals in one year, being successful in Long Island's Cedarhurst version. Early in the season of 1938-39 Hobbs took a crashing fall on Pharnace in a selling hurdle, the lowest grade of race, at Cheltenham. With his spine broken, he was paralysed down the left side of his body. For almost three months he lay on his back in hospital, and just after his 18th birthday was told he would be crippled for life and would never ride again.

Hobbs defied that gloomy prognosis, though he was to suffer periodic spasms of pain for the rest of his life, and was walking again by April before resuming race riding as war approached in August. On April 26 he rode Poor Duke, the first winner trained by Fulke Walwyn, at Buckfastleigh. In the war Hobbs served with the Queen's Own Yorkshire Dragoons, reaching the rank of captain, in the North African campaign. For his part in the assault on a strongly defended German position near Tunis in May 1943 he was awarded the Military Cross. The citation stated: "This officer crawled to the top of a hill occupied on the reverse side by the enemy in order to direct mortar fire and observe for tanks… He had to go so close to the enemy that it was not safe to speak on a telephone. He therefore climbed up and down all day to pass messages over his wireless at the bottom of the hill.

Through his efforts and skill, effective fire was brought to bear on a party of enemy tanks which could not be seen from any other position." Weighing 14 st 7 lb on demobilisation, Hobbs wasted drastically to 11 st 7 lb, only to be thwarted in his determination to ride just one more winner. Having no capital, he was unable to open his own training stable, and at the age of 25 became private trainer to John Rogerson and his wife Eileen, daughter of the diamond magnate Solly Joel, at the Dunston Lodge yard, near Wantage. With only a dozen horses in his care, he won a number of good races, notably the Grand Sefton Chase with War Risk at Aintree in November 1946. All the same, a small jumping stable was unviable. On the closure of Dunston Lodge, Hobbs was in considerable difficulties, being homeless, unemployed and newly wed. His problems were partially solved by his becoming assistant to the trainer George Beeby at Compton, Berkshire, in 1951.

Two years later he joined the Queen's trainer Captain (later Sir) Cecil Boyd-Rochfort, who had the Freemason Lodge Stable at Newmarket, in the same capacity. As he approached his 40th birthday in 1960, Hobbs's prospects again looked bleak. Boyd-Rochfort, then 73, showed no inclination to retire, which would have allowed Hobbs to take over at Freemason Lodge. Accordingly, Hobbs quit racing to become a travelling salesman for Gibson's, the Newmarket saddlers. Within a year, however, he yearned to be back in the stableyard. He returned as assistant to Major Jack Clayton in the Bedford Lodge stable at Newmarket in 1962, and after two years was appointed private trainer to the television magnate David (later Sir David) Robinson, who had 40 horses at Newmarket's Carlburg Stable. After so many vicissitudes, Hobbs finally reached a position in which he could enjoy a great deal of independence in the exercise of his talent.

At the end of 1965 four leading owners - Tom Blackwell, Jocelyn Hambro, Jim Philipps and David Wills - formed a company to establish him in the Palace House stable at Newmarket. Among other owners to join the stable were Hobbs's post-war patrons John and Eileen Rogerson, George Cambanis (the Greek shipping owner), Lord Rosebery, the bookmaker William Hill and Julian Wilson, then racing correspondent of the BBC. For George Cambanis, Hobbs won the Duke of York Stakes at York and the King George Stakes at Goodwood with the fast filly Stilvi.

She became dam of four of the most important horses to be trained by Hobbs: Tachypous, winner of the Middle Park Stakes in 1976 and runner-up in the 2,000 Guineas; Tromos, winner of the Dewhurst Stakes in 1978; Tyrnavos, who became Hobbs's only Classic winner by taking the Irish Derby in 1980; and Tolmi, successful in the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot after being second in the 1,000 Guineas in 1981.

Other important races won by Hobbs during 20 years at Palace House included the Goodwood Cup with Richmond Fair in 1969; the Stewards' Cup with Touch Paper in 1972; the Nassau Stakes with Catherine Wheel in 1971, Vielle in 1980 and Acclimatise in 1983; the Cheveley Park Stakes with Jacinth in 1972, and Cry of Truth in 1974; the Magnet Cup with Take a Reef in 1974; the Northumberland Plate with Tom Cribb in 1973; and the Gimcrack Stakes with Tumbledownwind in 1977. Hobbs was not a gambling trainer. His biggest bet was £25 on a horse he had running at Brighton. After it had obliged by only a short head, Hobbs - shaking like a leaf - vowed that he would never have another bet. He retired at the end of the season of 1985, and was elected to the Jockey Club.

In order to run his stable with maximum efficiency and ensure that slackness never prejudiced the welfare of the horses, Hobbs was a strict disciplinarian of the old school, but always completely fair to his staff. Away from the stable yard, he was a pleasant, companionable man whose sense of humour could never allow him to indulge in conceit. Bruce Hobbs married, in 1945, Betty Jean, step-daughter of the late LG Winder. They had a daughter. The marriage broke up soon after he gave up training, and he is survived by his second wife, Vicki.

Question: In 1938 at the age of 19, which jockey became the youngest ever winner of the Grand National?
Answer: BRUCE HOBBS